The invention relates to a method of and a system for preparing franked postal items in which, for each item, an assembly is prepared from a plurality of sheetlike parts, the assembly is individually passed to a postage meter and the assembly is franked by the postage meter.
The sheetlike parts may comprise a prefabricated envelope into which one or more other sheetlike parts are inserted. Alternatively, one of the sheetlike parts may for example have a larger size than the other sheetlike parts and be folded about the other sheetlike parts. Both packaging techniques are as such well known in the art of mail preparation.
From practice it is known to use a configuration comprising an IN-2A inserter station made by HADEWE B.V. in the Netherlands as a packaging station and two postage meters (for example of the type 8500 or 8700 made by Neopost Ltd. in the United Kingdom) each provided downstream of one of two exits of the inserter station and each set to a different postal value.
The inserter station is provided with a switch and with a means for determining a value of a quantitative, weight dependent property of each assembly in form of a thickness detector. The switch is operated in accordance with the detected thickness of each assembly for directing assemblies up to a predetermined thickness to one exit of the inserter station and for directing assemblies of which the detected thickness is larger than the predetermined thickness to the other exit of the inserter station. By setting the postage meters accordingly, it can thus be achieved that assemblies up to a predetermined thickness, and therefore up to a predetermined weight are franked with a first postal value in accordance with the franking class associated with weights below the predetermined weight and that assemblies with a larger thickness are franked with a second, higher postal value in accordance with a franking class associated with weights above the predetermined weight.
A disadvantage of using this configuration is, that two postage meters are needed, which requires additional investment, maintenance and monitoring. Another disadvantage of using this configuration is, that both exits of the inserter station are in use for normal mail, so no additional exit for mail requiring particular attention or treatment is available.